Kudo? Is that a type of woodpecker?

Jon Feenstra’s Big Year of birding (“The Wing Nuts,” March 16) was all about “me, me, me” and much less about birding and birds. A genuine birder is more focused on appreciating birds than accumulating kudos. For Feenstra, birding is about achieving acclaim and self-aggrandizement -- in this instance via the longest bird list. While most birders delight in the first sighting of a species, the most admirable birders don’t treat birds as objects and delight in all of their sightings.

Maria Gritsch

Los Angeles